Dáil debates

Thursday, 23 June 2005

11:00 am

Photo of Jim O'KeeffeJim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I strongly object to this proposal. I am not seeking to make a political point but we are dealing with a major Bill. The Minister has trumpeted it as of huge relevance to the country. That is true and it is only right that we ensure the Bill in its final form is something of which we can be proud. If one were to consider how best to produce a bad product, one could not think of a better way of doing it than to impose a guillotine in the fashion proposed by the Government.

It is not just a truism to state that rushed legislation is bad legislation. There has been ample evidence of it over the years. The Minister should be well aware of this given that he caused a number of immigration Bills to be rushed through the House, which later ended up in the courts. I have been a parliamentarian for a number of years and I urge the House to do the decent thing by the Garda Síochána and by the country. Let us ensure the Bill passed by the House is one of which we can be proud.

I accept that not all the 284 amendments require detailed consideration but some of them are of major significance. In fact, when the Minister presented them he suggested that they were a comprehensive response to the reports of the Morris tribunal. He indicated that they would deal with all the strictures of Mr. Justice Morris. If that is so, let us at least have the decency to examine those proposals. Let us not be faced at 8 p.m., having gone through a quarter of the amendments, with a single question from the Chair proposing that all the amendments fall other than those proposed by the Minister. We will end up with a Bill that is not even half considered.

There is provision in the Constitution for the President to refer legislation to the Supreme Court to be considered for its constitutionality. Two issues will arise at the end of today's proceedings. The first is the process employed by Parliament for dealing with this Bill. That certainly runs counter to the spirit, if not the letter, of the Constitution. If we do not give due process to the Bill, particularly a Bill of such importance, that issue will have to be considered.

There is a second issue. Amendments have been put before the House which will not be given adequate consideration but which comprise new proposals for the summary dismissal of members of the Garda Síochána. These are major new powers. If such powers are to be put in the Statute Book, they must be properly considered. We must be satisfied there are adequate safeguards. Above all, we must be satisfied there is due process and that any member of the Garda who might be faced with such a decision by the Garda Commissioner will have access to a process of natural justice. On my cursory reading of the amendments presented by the Minister, I am not satisfied that there is provision for such due process. That is all I might be able to say today about those provisions because we might not reach them.

My comments are not just directed at the Minister, Deputy McDowell. So far, he has had the backing of the Fianna Fáil Members of the House. I urge them to pause and reflect. In the name of goodness, let us do the proper thing by the Garda Síochána and the country. Give us a decent chance to assess the amendments properly. I guarantee on behalf of Fine Gael, the main Opposition party, that we will deal with this constructively and fairly. However, we need time to do it properly. The Government is not giving us that time.

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